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The photo above depicts Jerry Austin (seated far left) and Bruce Dias (standing center) with colleagues, including several from AS&E c. 1990
Tribute to Gerald K. Austin (1940-2023)
Compiled by Melinda Dillon (CE) and Harvey Tananbaum (HEAD)
We have learned that Jerry Austin passed away on December 3, 2023 after an illness of several years. Jerry was born in Detroit, Michigan and came to the Boston area to study mechanical engineering at MIT after graduating from Michigan State University. In the mid-60’s, he joined the x-ray astronomy group led by Riccardo Giacconi at American Science and Engineering. From our perspective he never left the field or the team for the remainder of his years – he did move from AS&E along with a half dozen or so amazing engineers to reconnect with the x-ray science team at SAO in 1977.
The authors fully recognize that this note cannot possibly capture the breadth and depth of Jerry’s enormous contributions to the field of x-ray astronomy, to his work with his colleagues and friends, and to the tremendous growth and success of SAO and the CfA over the past 50 years. He was an ever-present, yet unofficial overseer of many incredibly challenging and ultimately successful projects. His unassuming title of General Engineer in later years hardly begins to describe everything he did or the range of skills and expertise he brought to every project, continuing even after his retirement in 2019.
One of us (HT) had the great good fortune of starting his professional career at AS&E in 1968 working on the first NASA satellite dedicated to x-ray astronomy, for which Jerry soon became the lead mechanical engineer. When that satellite launched in December 1970, it was renamed Uhuru – Swahili for freedom – since it was launched just off the coast of Kenya on the 10th anniversary of Kenyan independence. Uhuru performed well beyond expectations, providing the first solid evidence for the existence of black holes, explaining how the bright x-ray sources in our Galaxy are powered, and discovering sources associated with “active galaxies” and clusters of galaxies. Simply stated, Jerry was integral to making those discoveries possible.
Soon afterwards while still at AS&E, Jerry along with Bruce Dias, Dave Boyd, Dick Goddard,Ed McLaughlin, and Phil McKinnon among others were key figures in building the first x-ray mission with a true telescope – the HEAO-B, renamed Einstein Telescope after launch in 1978. Following the integration of that payload, Jerry and the above-named engineers moved to SAO, joining the High Energy Astrophysics Division in 1977 to work more closely with Riccardo andthe x-ray group there. Using the imaging power of the telescope and its cameras, the Einstein team demonstrated that essentially all classes of astronomical objects ranging from normal stars to distant quasars radiate x-ray emission and constitute an essential channel for investigating and understanding how our universe works. It is fair to say that Jerry was in the midst of every aspect of designing, building and testing the Einstein payload and no doubt knew more about it than anyone else. If by chance, there was something he did not know, he knew where to get the information.
Jerry’s crowning achievement within x-ray astronomy was his leadership and management for designing building, calibrating and integrating the High Resolution Camera for the mission named Chandra after its launch in July 1999. CfA’s Steve Murray was the Principal Investigator for that instrument. Steve and Jerry worked incredibly closely on the HRC starting from the technology phase in the 1980’s and continuing for many years after the launch. After Steve’s untimely passing in 2015, Ralph Kraft assumed the role of HRC PI. When unexpected power supply issues intermittently impaired and then halted operation of the HRC in early 2022, Jerry continued to consult with the team even though he had retired. Eventually, the HRC was able to resume high quality operations in April 2023.
For those interested in further details, a wonderful 1998 oral history involving Jerry Austin and Steve Murray covers their work on Uhuru, Einstein, ROSAT, and Chandra. It can be found at: https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/28614
Over the years, Jerry took on a range of management and engineering roles for many CfA projects first from within HEAD and then after joining the Central Engineering Department in 2003. He was lead engineer for the SAO development of a High Resolution Imager (based on the Einstein HRI) for the German-UK-US ROSAT mission launched in 1990. ROSAT carried out what was then the most sensitive x-ray mapping of the entire sky in the 1990’s. Jerry also applied his vast talents and unlimited energy to contribute substantially to the following: Skylab Apollo Telescope Mount S-054 x-ray telescope, Solar-B/Hinode XRT, IRIS, Stardust, lab microcalorimeter, EBIT, monochromatic x-ray imager, AIA, Strofio and SWEAP (apologies for the wide use of acronyms here).
Within Central Engineering he wore many hats at various times: Manager of Product Assurance, member of committee which recommended integrating the Harvard machine shop with that of SAO, providing oversight for transfer of critical documents from one storage facility to another, and participating in the construction of the CDP facility from the specification and design stages, to proposal selection, to overseeing the build. Jerry also served as acting Manager of Central Engineering when that need arose.
Jerry’s diverse engineering background, vast problem-solving experience (which prevented several serious situations from occurring in major programs), tenacity, willingness to serve as a mentor for those at earlier career stages, penchant to volunteer for whatever organizational needs arose, extensive involvement with NASA for which he received a number of awards, and overall role in blazing new trails in astronomy combine to illustrate the tremendous loss which we now share. His experience at SAO was so varied and extensive that it would be impossible for even a team of people to fully appreciate, let alone replace it. This loss speaks to how high he set the bar.
There was never a real farewell or opportunity to honor Jerry’s contributions. He slowly declined after he was stricken with dementia. We found we were able to reach less and less of the Jerry we knew as time went on, but you knew he was always reaching for past connections and special memories. Like so many of us, much of his identity and pride was in being a part of CfA/SAO.
Information for services (12/14) and condolences is listed below.
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